Friendships Never Die
by Stark'sGirl
Summary: Zodiac/The Avengers crossover. Two mans die only to rebirth in other bodies for the simple reason that a friendship never dies. Rated for the f-word. Please, review.
1. Chapter 1

**Author Note: **Don't ask me from where did that came from. Maybe because I love Downey and Ruffalo together. Blame their cuteness. In this story, Tony and Bruce are both born in 1975. This is a Zodiac/Avengers crossover story in case you didn't saw it before. If you hadn't seen the movie Zodiac yet, I suggest you to do so. Is an amazing movie.

**Disclaimer: **If I owed any of this (aside from the idea) I would have met with Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr and never let them go.

SAN FRANSISCO, CALIFORNIA

MARCH 3,1975

The rain was pouring gently over the houses and car hoods in San Fransisco. It did so since a few days ago, it was nothing new for the peoples that lived there. The weather had turned against them, that was for sure but the life continued anyways. It always did, isn't it? It was it's curse and it had to be followed.

Inspector David Toschi sat in his car, his clothes dry and warm on his skin as he chewed on the animals biscuits he held in a hand. He had been sent to a stake out in the port. It was the most boring case he had ever gotten, the most boring murderer and the most boring storyline. In fact, everything had been boring after the Zodiac case. It was boring even to sleep and to eat. Even to stay with his wife and speak as he used to do before. His thoughts had been interrupted by the front passagear door closing with a loud thump.

The man that got inside the car was dripping wet, his brown hair was hanging on his face as if he was a homeless alcoholic even if he wasn't. Well, alcoholic he was but he wasn't homeless. He had a house even if he didn't had a family and he only invented one. That knew Toschi too well. He knew the man that got into the car next to him was nothing but a loner smart, damn smart but also damn stubborn, reporter. He knew him too well. They could easily be called best friends even if they didn't showed it too often.

'Raisins? They're completely dry and no, they are not out of term, yet.' Avery broke the silence and widened his eyes into a fake innocent attempt to offer the inspector a few raisins from his bag.

'Paul,' Toschi began and rolled his eyes into an exasperated attempt. 'you really have nothing to do home? I mean, read a book or something. Or go out with that cartoonist of yours, share your raisins with him. I'm trying to do my job here.' He sighed, taking another biscuit and glaring at Avery. 'And could you stop dripping all over the place?'

Avery let out a sigh, grabbing a dirty towel from the back seat and drying his hair and face with it. 'The T.V. is off and the 'cartoonist',' he quoted the word with two fingers. 'is out on a date. And, what could be more exciting, dear David, than sitting with me, in a car at a boring stake out?' the sarcasm was obvious in his voice as was his loneliness. He hated being alone and that was the only thing that kept Toschi from not throwing him out of the car.

'And your raisins.' Toschi added with an arched eyebrow at the reporter who looked surprised. Avery held up a finger, as if he just found the world's greatest creation. Like if he found America once again.

'And your animal biscuits.' He finally said with a dead voice that made Toschi chuckle. 'See, if I wasn't here, who would make you laugh?' Avery raised his eyebrows but Toschi just shook his head.

The hours passed easily. They discussed different things, mostly personal. Toschi found out for the first time that Avery was married in the past but his wife was killed in a car crash and that ever since he never tried to make a relationship. Of course, he did had occasional sex but he never put his soul into the relationships he had with random women. He actually found the relationship with the alcohol easier than any other one. He wanted to remain faithful to his dead wife until he died.

'Hear that?' Avery suddenly asked, moving his ear to the car window and just then a shadow passed in front of his eyes. 'Our killer,' he added and jumped out of the car without waiting for Toschi. The inspector only shook his head and loaded his revolver before he jumped out of the car and ran out after Avery.

The man shadow moved somewhere behind a few containers and out of the sight of both, the reporter and the inspector. 'Fuck.' Avery cursed under his breath and he turned around a few times, holding the back of his head in his hands. If he only moved faster and jump on the killer maybe they'll have caught him.

The thing Avery didn't realized was that a small, almost invisible in the shower like pouring rain, red dot was pointed at the inspector shoulder. He was too nervous to notice that anyways. He was too angry with himself to pay attention to details. Then he heard it, the safety of a gun being pulled. A gun that wasn't of Toschi and that made him look at the inspector. He then saw the red dot on his shoulder, on line with his heart and his eyes widened.

'David!' Avery screamed and ran toward the inspector. The world seemed to stop in place for him. He could see the bullet stopping somewhere in the air as well and he thought it was his moment.

Without even thinking, Avery jumped in front of the inspector, but before he could pull them down, he felt something break his shoulder. He felt something painful get into his tender flesh and skin and he saw the blood exploding from the source of the pain. He was Toschi's terrified deer eyes and his lips moving into something he couldn't hear. He heard only the thump with which he fell on top of the inspector and the rain pouring on his clothes.

'Paul!' he heard a terrified scream and two hands being placed on his arm. The same hands that pushed him away a lot of times. The same hands that also grabbed the phone a thousand times when he made prank calls on him. 'Paul, don't you dare to die on me. You heard me?!' the screams continued as he felt himself being shaken.

Toschi knew that Avery took the bullet from him with his back. That meant the bullet must have already destroyed his lung and from the way the blood was pouring and mixing with the rain, his doubts were right. Without hesitating, Toschi took out his phone and dialed the 911 emergency number. He heard the line open and his mouth opened to speak when he felt a sharp pain in his back and he felt his mouth fill up with a liquid. The liquid was sweet and he could have sworn that he remembered that taste from the victims he saw over the years. Or the moments when he was beaten hard and his mouth bleeded.

His phone dropped to side as he slowly fell next to the reporter. His deer-like eyes found the reporter's wide, almond ones and both of them understood the message between the looks. They were going to die. What a ridiculous death. The Zodiac didn't got to kill them but an idiot did get that chance. A single, bloody hand reached out toward the inspector and he immediately grabbed it. He felt the pain fade slowly and from his friend's facial expression, he felt the same.

'Inspector,' Avery choked out and a line of blood began to form from his lips and down to his beard covered jaw. 'Friendships…Friendships never die, inspector. I'll see you in Hell.' He managed to choke out once again before his almond eyes dropped closed.

'Yes, reporter,' Toschi murmured with a loud and painful cough. 'I'll see you in Hell.' He added before he felt a final hit of pain and his eyes closed. Their chest slowly stopped moving in sync as their clothes got even more drenched from the powerful rain.

LONG ISLANDS, NEW YORK

MARCH 3, 1975

'Once more push, Mrs. Stark.' The doctor called out and was soon followed by a woman painful scream that was also followed by a loud baby cry. The doctor held up the child, strands of dark brown hair already visible on his tiny head while the nurse wiped the blood off him. 'Congratulations, you have a perfectly healthy son.' The doctor informed and handed the child to his mother.

Maria stared at her son for a moment and noticed his dark, almond colored eyes. 'Welcome to the world, Anthony.'

MEANWHILE

'Push!' The blonde doctor shouted and the woman gave one more powerful push with a loud scream that was suddenly cut by a baby cry. The woman fell flat on her back and closed her eyes as she draw in deep and steady breathes in attempt to calm her pounding heart and the pain she had on her lower half.

'Congratulations, Mrs. Banner, you have a perfectly healthy baby boy.' The doctor said before he let her take the child from his arms. He had a few dark brown strands hair on his tiny and now soft scalp. The woman soothed a finger over his cheek and closed her eyes for a moment.

'Welcome home, Robert.' She whispered to her now calm son.

**A/N: **Love it? Hate it? Want more of it? Please leave your good/bad reviews here.


	2. Little about Tony

**A/N: **I didn't expected this story to be that wanted but now that it is that wanted, I already wrote the second chapter. You guys inspire me.

MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

The institute hallways were crowded with teenagers. It wasn't long until the last project of the year will be announced and of course, everyone was excited about it. Some were afraid also because not everyone was a born genius. Those were the rare group of students and most of them were the mayors childrens or the gouvernator ones. Only high ranged families that offered thousand dollars to get their childrens a certificate.

That wasn't the case of Anthony 'Tony' Stark anyways.

At the age of seventeen he was already in the last grade at the MIT and more than half of the school, that were the boys part, hated him. Well, they had reasons. He had a brilliant mind and could solve any enigma that the teacher put him to do with the hope that once he'd get a wrong answer. That never happened anyways. He always had a straight A+ line on every single lesson. If there existed something higher than A+ then he'd get it at physics and mathematics. The boy was a genius. That was clear.

Then it came his looks on which the other boys were jealous on. He had that luxurious, dark brown hair that had blonde reflections in the light and those eyes. Those eyes were the death of most of the girls from the school. They had such a strange color, depending on the light but mostly they were almond colored and with shades of yellow in them. He wasn't tall or too muscular as the other boys but he had a charm that was rarely found in the school and even in the area in those days.

'Hey, Stark,' Mrs. Smith, the mathematics teacher called out after the young man and that made his eyebrows raise but he didn't even turn around. That was his biggest problem. He was extremely sarcastic and uncaring. He was always ready to snap at someone or simply embarrass them with a change of words. 'The director announced a hour ago what the last project will be about. You weren't there.' That wasn't a question, Mrs. Smith knew much better than anyone else that Tony never showed up at that kind of events.

'Oh no?' Tony turned around with his usual innocent face but with a sly smirk on his lips. 'I guess I slept over. What was it about anyways?' he asked and leant a shoulder against a locker from the hallway.

'You're going to work in teams,' the blonde woman, in her mid-forties answered quickly. 'You will be paired with a boy that comes from another city and another college. He participated on a change of experience thing and well, you were the lucky one to get him.' Mrs. Smith added with a smirk at the last part. She knew how much Tony hated the students that had no clue on science.

Tony's brows rose extremely high and he could have sworn that they touched the hallway ceiling. He couldn't believe it. He will be paired with an idiot that God knows if he even knows what one plus one does. Seriously, those were the moments when he thought that the director held something against him. Maybe because he had slept with his daughter. Well, that didn't matter that much, did it? It was a quick, one night-stand anyways.

'You are gonna pair me with an idiot?' he finally spoke out loud and his almond colored eyes rolled back. 'I can't believe it. Really.' He insisted and ran a hand in his soft brown locks. 'I guess it is a science project?'

'Yes,' the woman confirmed with a nod and that gained her an exasperated sigh from Tony. 'Is physics, Stark, you are going to make it through even if that guy is out of the line. You could do it alone anyways. Do not worry about it and do not dare to give me again the 'I was sick' bullshit.' She warned with an arched eyebrow.

Tony had to chuckle at that and rubbed his neck with a hand sheepishly. He remembered last year, he was paired with an idiot from another class at the science project and he never showed up at the presentation. He left the poor idiot to make a fool of himself in front of the class when he didn't even knew what an atom was, while Tony put on the 'I was sick' thing. That was hilarious.

'I couldn't help it, Mrs. Smith.' He excused himself and chuckled once again. 'It was too funny.' He added with a soft smile on his lips that could melt steel but not his teacher also.

'You are meeting him, Stark,' the woman said with an arched eyebrow. 'Tomorrow. Physics class. Eight on dot and no pretexts.' She pointed at him with a finger and turned on her heels before heading off and leaving a frustrated Tony Stark behind her.


	3. Little About Bruce

OHIO UNIVERSITY

The small, grey colored hallways of the university were crowded with different teenagers. Each of them were surrounded by their own group of friends. Most of them were holding their books to their chests while they spoke about the school gossips, boys, girls or trends. That wasn't the circle where Robert Banner was in anyways.

He sat in one empty corner from the hallway, his writing and reading book balanced on his knees as he ran his eyes over the dirty pages of the book. He had always been the quiet one, never enjoying being in a huge group of persons and never having close friends. Maybe it was because he was shy and on inside too genial to stand up listening to the school gossips. He never went to parties either. He preferred to stay home, helping his mother clean up the house or simply studying for his exams. That was why most of the boys from the school called him a girl. He didn't minded, he never showed it anyways. He only remained quiet and went further. Why to get in a fight with an idiot anyways?

He never was the perfect guy as appearance either. He could be called cute but not remarkable. Maybe that was why he didn't had a girlfriend until now. He had short, dark brown and barely curled hair that framed his face at perfection. He always wore reading glasses that covered the deep, warm, deer eyes underneath. He considered his eyes the only thing that was beautiful about him. He wasn't tall and neither muscular, he had a child face thing that most of the girls disliked. Not that he ever minded, he didn't cared about them at all.

'Robert. Robert Banner.' The voice of the director echoed through his ears and only then he realized that he sat right in front of his office door. Bruce looked up at the older man with both eyebrows arched. Why did the director called his name? He did nothing wrong after all.

'Could you come in? We do have to talk.' The grey haired man gave the boy a gentle smile, showing that he had good news to share with him.

Bruce nodded, closing his books and getting up from the floor. The warmth of the office hit him as soon he entered it. As was the smell of coffee and old papers that he loved so much. He always loved the smell the director's offices had and it always came as a calming smell to him. But that couldn't keep his mind away from what the director said. Why would the director speak with him?

'I've seen you on a list. For an experience change thing at the M.I.T and the board of directors, with me, of course, made a decision. You are the winner of the excursion. You will leave tomorrow morning at six with the first plane to Massachusetts and you will be paired into a project with a boy,' the director paused and looked down at his notebook with pursed lips. 'Yes…With Stark. Anthony Edward Stark.'

Bruce stared at him dumbly and even blinked incredulously a few times. He was selected to go in Boston and to the M.I.T for a whole week? That was his dream. He always wanted to go to the M.I.T but his family didn't had enough moneys to send him there for the college. Bruce shook his head, his lips curled into a genuine smile as he looked at the plane ticket from the director's desk. Yes, it was his, it had his name written on it. Robert Bruce Banner.

'I can't believe it,' he managed to utter out and glanced up at the director. 'I guess…Thank you, Sir.' That gained him an arched eyebrow from the director. 'For trusting me, I mean. The M.I.T is an important institute and I feel honored you decided to send me there.' Bruce added and took the plane ticket between his fingers. He stared at it for a few good moments before he, carefully, stuffed it in his shirt breast pocket.

'You have the rest of the day free. Tomorrow you'll have a long day.' The director smiled reassuringly at his young student. Bruce simply nodded and turned around almost robotically, he didn't cared about anything else than going there and creating a good impression. He couldn't wait to get home and tell his mother about it.


	4. The Meeting Time

**A/N: **Well, the past two chapters were about either of our boys but now it is the meeting time. *suspense music* How will it go?

The _Italian _writing are either thoughts or flashbacks.

The young Stark wandered down the college hallways with a obviously sad look on his face. Today was the day when he had to meet his new project partner that he was more than sure that was only another idiot. Another idiot like the one from last year. One that didn't even knew what an atom was. For God sakes, how did those peoples even entered the MIT. Really it was frustrating.

Tony looked down at his clothes once again. He wore a dark purple button up shirt that was in a perfect contrast with his skin color and that made him look even more mature and serious than he ever looked. In the lower half, he wore a pair of black jeans that was fitting his body perfectly with a pair of black sport shoes. He glance over at his hand in which he held a carpet on which the name of Stark Industries could be seen written with capital and white letters. He stole it from his father that morning but that didn't mattered anyways.

'Physics class…' he muttered under his breath as he stopped in front of the hard wood door. He let out a last sigh before his hand almost involuntarily gripped the door knob and pulled it down before he pushed the door open.

The first thing he saw in the room was his mathematics teacher, Mrs. Smith. Her blonde locks were caught up in a professional bun with only one strand of hair hanging on each side of her face. Her reading glasses seemed much cleaner than usual and that surprised Tony in a pleasant way. He always wondered how that woman could see if she always wore those dirty reading glasses. Her dress was the usual grey one that was a bit too tight on her tummy thing that she miserably tried to hide with the carpet she held in her hand.

Next to her, a young boy, not older but not younger than seventeen stood up at Tony's entrance. He was dressed in a perfectly adjusted white shirt that was barely visible because of the suit jacket he wore over it. On his lower half he had a pair of black, apparently fabric, trousers that were probably a few numbers bigger than him. The same as the rest of his clothes anyways. He, too, wore reading glasses. Tony could see that the frame color was a light shade of gold and that made a smile form on his lips. He always loved the gold color.

But there was something strange about the boy as well. His eyes remembered him of something. Those huge, deer eyes were too familiar for him even if he never saw them before. He frowned lightly, trying to find out if he ever met this boy before but his mind went blank. Then something happened. He couldn't control his own body any longer. He couldn't control his mind from going into unknown places.

_Rain. It was all he could see around him. The wet drops falling over his face quickly even if he felt a hand brush it away. He guessed it was his own hand because no one else could have brushed the rain off his face. He could feel that inside he was frustrated but the reason was unknown. He didn't knew why he felt that way but he only felt that. Then he caught sight of something. A red laser and that rose something inside him. Something unknown. Once again._

'_Toschi!' he heard a voice, that sounded a lot as his but it was older, scream. He couldn't see anything more from the fast turn of the events but he did saw a pair of huge, deer eyes staring right back into his before…_

'Stark,' he was taken away from his line of thoughts at the sound of his teacher's voice. 'Stark!' the voice came even louder and he was thrown back into reality once again. 'Are you okay?'

'Yes,' he managed to answer, his voice not higher than a whisper. What was that? Was that his imagination? He remembered having dreams like that flashback before also but he never saw it that clear. It was always foggy but now he saw it so clear. What was that? He couldn't answer his own question.

'Stark, this is your project mate, Robert Banner,' the teacher mentioned with her head to the other boy and Tony nodded before he took, carefully, a step closer.

'Anthony Stark,' he said, holding out his free hand to the other boy to shake. Bruce looked at it with curiousity and then noticed the watch that occupied the boys wrist. A silver Zodiac watch.

_He saw a man jump in front of him. He couldn't see his face, it was like the man had no face. He could only see something red covering his own clothes even if he knew that the blood wasn't from him. He could feel something raising up in his throat and he tried to say something but he couldn't. He wasn't in pain but he was shocked._

'_Avery!' he heard his own voice, more mature, scream out and that was the first time when he saw the man's eyes. He had some deep almond colored eyes that would have made him gasp in surprise if he wasn't that surprised but he couldn't because…_

Bruce was snapped back into the reality and the first thing he saw were a pair of deep almond colored eyes staring right back into his and two eyebrows arched. He then noticed that the other boy was still holding his hand out to his and he took it gently, shaking it in a friendly manner. He couldn't understand why he had that flashback, and why now. He never had it that clear before but now it was as if something had created a flame inside him. Something that made him see his flashback clearer.

'Robert Banner,' he said with a soft smile on his features. Even the other boy's skin felt familiar to his touch but he couldn't place it from where. He slowly extracted his hand from the other boy's grip and nodded politely.

'I guess that I should leave you two alone now,' the teacher broke the awkward silence before she stood up, giving them both a weird look before she headed to the door. 'Don't forget about the project research.' She called out over her shoulder then closed the door behind her.

Bruce glanced over at the boy in front of him and cleared his throat awkwardly. 'So, where are we starting?' he asked with curiousity. Even if neither of them would ever admit it, they both knew that this pairing between them would have some great results even if it felt strange at the beginning.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: **I'm so sorry for the belated update but my computer had a virus and I have to use my sister's laptop until I get it back. I know this is not an excuse but I will try to update as soon is possible and I get my laptop and inspiration back.

Million thanks for all those who reviewed the last chapters. You made my day! I hope you will enjoy this chapter!

Bruce smoothed a hand down his purple colored shirt for what he thought it was the hundred time in a matter of minutes. Ever since they went to the school library, the awkward silence between the two of them became unbearble. As always, he couldn't find the right words to start a conversation and he'd simply watch as the other boy texted on his phone. _Probably texting someone about how awkward you are,_ he thought then shook the thought away.

He never cared what people thought about him. The only people he cared about were his mother and his teachers. Yes, he cared what his teachers thought about him. If they liked him or not, if they thought he was smart or not. The teachers were his second family and most of them considered him as their child as well. It made him feel good to know that he could be around them and considered one of them and not just another student. He was always treated the same way as the teachers and not the students.

'Okay, this is _way _too awkward,' Tony began as he stuffed his phone back in his jeans pocket. 'We are suppossed to work together and that can't be possible if we're silent the whole time. It'd be a mess. And the last thing I want is to get a low grade at science.'

'You've got a point,' Bruce mumbled, his voice barely audible. He then sighed as he realized how small his voice sounded. He felt intimidated by how direct the other boy was. He wished that he could be that way too.

'Then let's get to the point.' Tony said and clasped his hands together. Before Bruce could speak, Tony took the opportunity to continue speaking, 'I was thinking that we could create a robot. Something useful. That'd impress the jury because usually, people are only showing a piece of paper and get the highest grade. We can create a robot and also do a blueprint and a short text about it.'

Bruce blinked incredulously at the other's words before he found his voice to speak. 'A robot? You realize that to build a robot takes longer than two weeks? Not to mention that we'd need all the materials to create a robot.'

'Are you serious?' Tony let out a seriously amused chuckle. 'Are you an alien?' Noticing Bruce's frown, he picked up his carpet from the nearby table and held it up. 'I'm the son of Howard Stark. Materials and money are not a problem for me. Neither is the time.'

'You plan on asking your father to create a robot for you?' The shorter boy asked, his brows furrowed into a thinking mood.

'No,' Tony shook his head and Bruce could have sworn that he noticed a flash of pain cross the billionaire teenage eyes. 'I can do it myself. I'm actually good at it. It wouldn't be the first time when I created something that other people find hard to do.'

Bruce's eyes darted away from the boy's features as he tried to think. The man had a point. No other child would create a robot and that'd surprise the teachers in a good way. Besides, he'd also get a good grade at science even if he wasn't a student of M.I.T but because he worked on the same project as Tony. With a sigh, he turned his head back to look at the other boy and folded his hands together.

'This sounds tempting but,' Bruce paused enough to take in a deep breath and look fixedly at the boy in front of him. 'I'm not good at mechanics. That means it'll be on you.'

Tony clasped his hands together loudly and looked over at Bruce with a ten million dollars smile written all over his face. 'That's not a problem. It happens that I'm good at it. So, our project would be a robot, right...partner?' With that, Tony held out his hand for a professional hand shake which Bruce accepted immediately.

_'That dosen't mean that you are a cop as well, Avery.' Toschi stated with an arched eyebrow at the journalist in front of him. It was the first time he met that journalist. Of course, he had heard about and even read a few of his articles but never met him in person before._

_'You are no fun, seriously.' Avery whined and placed a hand over his heart. 'But, of course, I'm not a brainless cop. I'm a journalist. I do something more for living than hiding things from the population.' He said with a small and barely visible grimace._

_Toschi rolled his eyes and slipped on his cream colored trench coat. He knew better than getting in a fight with Paul Avery. He heard that the man was terrible when it came to verbal fighting and it was the last thing Toschi wanted. To be on a case with a idiot that wanted to take revenge on him._

_'Anyways, we are partners now, right?' Avery said with an arched eyebrow as he held out a hand to shake. Toschi looked down at the man's hand and then back at his face before he nodded and accepted the hand shake._

'Bruce? Earth to Bruce.' Tony said in a obivously faked robot tone as he waved a hand in front of the other's eyes. That was when Bruce snapped out from his own world and focused again on the present. The world where he wasn't David Toschi but Bruce Banner and Tony was far from being a journalist named Paul Avery.

'Sorry, what were you saying?' Bruce finally said as he shook his head to clear his thoughts once again.

'I was saying that we should decide for robot model...' Tony began and waved a hand in the air as he tried to explain Bruce his plans. Thing he didn't know was that Bruce wasn't paying attention to him but to the small voices that were in his mind. The voices that were telling him that he knew Tony Stark long before they even met.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Yes, I know that I didn't update in a long time but tests and school kept me busy. However, I found enough time to write a new chapter for this story.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I hope you are still tuned for this story! Also, I apologize for any grammar/spelling mistakes I have done. If anything's too bad then don't hesitate telling me about it.**

TWO WEEKS LATER

'Hey, Bruce?' The billionaire called out from a spot that was coming from somewhere from the his- or rather his father's, workshop.

'Yes, just a minute.' Bruce waved a hand dismissively as he held a few papers in his other one. They had been working on their robot for two weeks now and it seemed that in a few days they'll get it ready. Or rather, Tony would get it ready because Bruce couldn't use a screwdriver right.

'There's no other minute,' The stubborn billionaire insisted and stepped out from the shadows. His brown hair was messy and sticking in all the directions while his previously white t-shirt was covered in grease and...dust? Bruce had to shake his head at that.

'Tony, what have you done, _again_?' The exasperated tone of the soon-to-be-doctor echoed through the room as he ran a hand in his brown curls. Yes, it wasn't the first time when Tony did something that resulted with them both hearing a lecture from Mrs. Stark about not destroying her husband's lab and another, more agressive lecture from Howard Stark himself that Bruce had only heard from the outside of the house.

Tony shrugged his shoulders a little and looked down at the ground. If a stranger would see the look on his face then that person would believe that he actually felt guilty but that trick didn't work on Bruce, or at least not anymore. He learnt to don't fall for his tricks any longer and he did a rather good job on it until now. He became quite insensible at his best and only friend's innocent attempts.

'Tony,' Bruce warned with a quick shake of his head, the slightest smile forming on his lips and only the feel of his lips tugging upright made his head lower. He didn't like to smile too much, he never thought that he looked good when smiling, even if his teachers and now Tony told him that he should smile more. 'You know I don't believe you if you pull that face on me.'

'Who says that I want you to believe me?' Tony said dryly, making his way past his friend and poking him in the side with a screwdriver. The other jumped and turned around quickly with a defensive look on his face.

'How many times do I have to mention that I don't like pointy things?' Bruce huffed and pushed his reading glasses further over his nose. His hand then reached out for one of the vials he had scattered all over the table, only to feel it shattering in his hand and the glass piercing his skin. His silent gasp caused Tony to turn around and look at him with an alarmed look, his brows up near his hairline as he studied his friend's face.

'Oh, it's nothing,' Bruce mumbled as he saw that his hand was bleeding. Perfect, probably he couldn't use his hand on writing or anything else and the presentation was only days away. He shook his head to self, his good hand clutching the hurt one in attempt to stop the bleeding. 'Probably I should just wash it and then bandage the wound.'

Without any word, Bruce made his way to the bathroom that was connected to the workshop and turned on the water, testing its warmth with his index finger. It was just perfect, not too cold and neither too hot as Tony usually left it, probably he was the last person who washed his hands in that bathroom. He sighed and let the water flow over his hurt hand, the redish blood mixing with the water and falling into the white sink.

_'__Avery!' Toschi screamed as his hands tightened on the other man's arms. He could see the shock in those wide, almond colored eyes just as he saw the light slowly fade. That couldn't be happening, not now, not ever. He couldn't lose what was his best friend, despite the fact that he never showed it. He couldn't lose him because an idiot tried to shot him. To shot David Toschi and not Paul Avery._

_'Paul,' He mumbled as he lied the other man on the ground, watching as the blood and rain mixed in a small hole from the ground. His shaking hands reached inside his drenched trench coat and pulled out his police radio* as he drew in a deep breath. He saw a dot of blood form at the corner of the man's mouth and all he wanted to do was scream, but he knew better than that._

_'Come on, Paul,' He whispered as he fiddled with his police radio. 'You can't do this to me, not now.' He barely had time to press the 'open' button as a piercing pain rack through his back. He felt his eyes widen and the horrified look on his friend's face made his hand shot behind him and feel the coat before pulling it away and bringing it to his eyes. Blood. He had blood on his hand and he knew that it wasn't coming from Avery but it was coming from him._

'Damn!' Tony's voice, soon followed by a piece of metal hitting the floor, awoke Bruce from his flashback with a start. He noticed that his hand wasn't bleeding any longer and that the blood was completely gone from the sink. _It kept longer than other times,_ he thought as he remembered his flashback. He felt his chest tighten at the simple memory of those wide, almond eyes staring at him and then blood and then...How much that man looked as Tony and how much that bloody hand looked as his own.

'Paul...' He mumbled, trying to remember the last name of the man he called out for in his dream/flashback. He tapped his fingers against the sink nervously and then the man's last name hit him as a flash. 'Avery! Paul Avery..." Bruce nodded to self and stared at his reflection. He was going to do some research on that name and see if he could find any record with that name, or if the name was only an invention of his imagination.

*** That was a suggestion from Zeugmaqueen A03, that Toschi should have a police radio and not a phone. **

**Other suggestions are welcome as well! Don't forget to review, that'd make my day.**


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